1948 Chevy Pickup - The Middle Man

Frank Briglia has been doing this hot rod thing for a long time, both professionally and as a hobby. In the early days of street rodding Frank was busy building fiberglass '32-34 Ford bodies in his company VWT Fiberglass. After selling that company, he became involved in building Kevlar bobsled bodies with the Jeff Bodine team that eventually led to an Olympic Gold Medal for the team. It seems obvious that Frank Briglia is a talented guy who enjoys good engineering.

And so, when it came time to rebuild his hot rod truck, Frank had a different idea. He wanted to mount a C5 Corvette motor mid-engine style, using the Corvette transaxle and associated independent rear suspension.

2/14Ultra-Leather covers the seats and headliner in a contemporary pattern. Note the custom-made inside garnish molding for the flush-mounted rear windows. The Sony stereo is mounted under the seat and operated with a remote. Like the rest of the truck, the interior is a great blend of form and function.

Frank located a 420 hp '05 Corvette 5.7-liter engine as well as an '01 Corvette that gave up the 4L60E transaxle. Armed with these parts and some help from Don Cuneo at Chassis Dynamics, a race car fabricator in Oxford, Connecticut, they set about building a tubular sub-frame that would mount the engine, transaxle, and the independent rear suspension. When the sub-frame was complete, Frank grafted it to the stock '48 Chevrolet frame. Stainless steel piping routes the coolant forward to the radiator that remains in the stock location, while the abbreviated stainless exhaust system exits through a custom-rolled rear pan. A Street & Performance wiring harness handles engine management including the drive-by-wire throttle and paddle shifters. All this sounds very exotic, and every bit of it was designed for trouble-free motoring.

Pleased with the all-Corvette driveline, Frank decided a C4 Corvette front suspension would make for a great handling truck. The complete front suspension from a '94 Corvette now mounts to the stock truck frame via Frank's own brackets. A Thunderbird rack-and-pinion turns the chromed plated Z06 Corvette wheels. Adding to the great handling are Nitto tires that are 255/45-17 front and 295/45-18 rear, your basic big ‘n' little Vette wheels. Locating the mid-engine added 4 inches to the wheelbase of the truck.

With all the engineering worked out, Frank set about building a body to equal the chassis. The top was chopped 2½ inches eliminating the need for any rubber around the windows in the process. Suicide doors were added by swapping the B-pillar to the A-pillar location. All trim was shaved from the truck, and the front bumper now rides higher and closer to the grille.

The four-inch longer than stock wheelbase meant the bed would have to be longer than the stock half-ton bed. Rather than extend the bed, Frank located a ¾-ton bed and shortened it 6 inches. The Corvette rear suspension is wider than the stock '48 rear, so the bed was also widened 2½ inches. A modified '03 S10 tailgate resides above a handformed rolled rear pan. Scoops on the bedsides exit hot air from the motor compartment. The custom fiberglass tonneau cover also incorporates air ducts for the engine. These scoops are the only hint that the motor may be in the bed of this truck.

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When all the panel finishing was complete, a custom DuPont orange was mixed using orange tinting dyes. Frank and Don Drost applied the paint before turning attention to the interior of the truck.

The stock dashboard holds a Haneline insert and Insulshield keeps the cab both quiet and comfortable. The A/C system is from Southern Air and the modern sound system is completely out of sight. Apricot Ultraleather cover the bucket seats that reside on either side of the custom built console. Frank built the shifter that selects Drive, Reverse, Neutral or Park, but if you feel like having a little fun running the truck through the gears, it's as simple as hitting the paddle shifters located directly behind the billet steering wheel.

Frank has owned this truck for over 20 years and this is the third major rebuild. It took about one year for Frank Briglia and friends to complete this latest (and Frank swears the last) rendition of his truck. The engineering throughout the truck is superb and the fit and finish matches the great fabrication work. But the best part of the whole project is the fact this truck is driven, and driven a lot. We met up with Frank at the NSRA Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky, and yes, the truck was driven the 875 miles to the Nats and then back home again. That's roughly 2,000 miles in one week, so should you wonder if this wild mid-engine arrangement works, wonder no more.

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The 5.7 liter Corvette engine is located 8 inches into the cab for a true mid-engine design. The super sanitary engine bay includes handformed panels in front of the wood bed and cargo area. The engine was close-coupled to the transaxle with a custom-built bellhousing so no driveshaft is used.

14/14The proportions on this truck are spot-on, and even a trained eye cannot detect the ¾-ton bed that has been widened 2½ inches and shortened 6 inches. Note the rear windows are mounted from the inside with no rubber, and the stainless trim around the door glass is the only stock trim on the cab. The tailgate is a modified ’03 S-10 unit resting above a great looking rolled rear pan that houses twin exhaust ports. Peeking out from under the truck is the ’04 Corvette transaxle and independent suspension.